Peach State Summer Theatre is like a musical buffet of styles and tastes.

Or maybe a better analogy is the 2025 season is a cool treat like a gallon of Neapolitan ice cream.

People can enjoy the macabre fun of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Or the jukebox jump of “A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline.”

Or the classic songs of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Or audiences can dip into a combination of two or all three shows, just like mixing chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream. There are even a few days left where you can take in two shows during the same day – one afternoon matinee followed by one evening show.

You may want to act soon, whether trying to see one show or all shows, the season ends in a couple of weeks and the PSST! folks note the remaining shows are starting to sell out.

If catching more than one show, audiences can match how they saw some cast members in a previous performance. My granddaughters noticed that the principal cast of “The Wizard of Oz” – Dorothy (Aubrey Anderson), Scarecrow (Andrew Rowell), the Tinman (Johnny Flannagan), the Cowardly Lion (Trey Harrell), Glinda the Good Witch (Olivia Scott) and the Wizard (Ian Anderson) were also the principal characters of Ronnette, Seymour, Orin, the voice of Audrey II, Audrey and Mr. Mushnik, respectively, in “Little Shop.” Jenna Najjar does double duty as the Wicked Witch in “Oz” and Patsy in “Patsy Cline,” with Rowell, Flannagan and Harrell joining Daxton Chapell as the Jordanaires in “Patsy Cline.”

They are an amazing and versatile group of performers.

Megan Wheeler directs a fun look back at the life and music of Patsy Cline. The musical tells her stories through the talented wit of Ethan Ray Parker playing radio DJ Little Big Man.

Audiences may be tempted to sing along but don’t. Let Jenna Najjar do the singing. After all, the Patsy Cline Estate approved her to play Patsy Cline, so let her sing Patsy’s songs. Besides, she and other cast members invite the audience to sing along on some occasions. The Jordanaires provide humorous looks at some 1950s-era commercial jingles, too.

“Little Shop of Horrors” is a darkly magical and comic show, directed by Hank Rion with choreography by Blair Andersen. This was my favorite of the three 2025 PSST! shows. The pacing, the songs, the dancing, the characterizations, the imagination, the ever-growing man-eating plant that threatens not only a neighborhood but the planet … the one-two song punch of “Mushnik and Son” followed by “Git It,” the second act powerhouse of “Suddenly Seymour” … feed me! Don’t miss a feeding … or this show.

What can you say about “The Wizard of Oz”? “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Lions and tigers and bears … oh my! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Ding Dong, the Witch is dead. Follow the Yellow Brick Road. If I Were the King of the Forrrrest. If I only had a brain … a heart … courage. And your little dog too!

Timothy Letheic Goins directs the familiar story and characters with some fun twists. Sarah Wildes Arnett choreographs several wonderful dance numbers with the “Jitterbug” – a song left on the movie’s cutting room floor – being a memorable showstopper.

There’s no place like home and “Oz” finds a great home on PSST!’s Sawyer Theatre stage.

Lighting, sound, the live orchestra, the vocals, sets, costumes, wigs, puppets, so many amazing things about Peach State Summer Theatre this year.

And possibly the most wonderful thing is PSST! is here in Valdosta, for every summer for the past 20-plus years. And it’s expected to return next year.

But that’s then. The 2025 season is now. And no joke. Show seats are disappearing fast.

Peach State Summer Theatre runs through July 19. Visit www.valdosta.edu/psst or the in-person box office, open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon-2 p.m. Sundays, VSU Fine Arts Building. 

Dean Poling is a former editor with The Valdosta Daily Times and The Tifton Gazette.